Farina Schurzfeld: From Rocket Internet to Digital Health’s DiGA Queen
Ever wonder what happens when a German economics grad skips the surf lessons in Sydney and builds one of Australia’s fastest-scaling startups? Farina Schurzfeld did exactly that — and then turned the same operational firepower toward mental health.
In this episode of #TheShot of #DigitalHealth Therapy, Jim Joyce and I speak with Farina who shares her journey from launching Groupon in Australia to co-founding Selfapy (Germany’s leading digital mental health platform) and taking it through the bureaucratic gauntlet of DiGA approval – before stepping back to build AndRobin, a sidekick-for-hire growth and ops squad.
💻 Fast growth isn’t sustainable without long-term thinking and ethical grounding.
🛒 What scales in e-commerce doesn’t always translate to regulated, B2B-driven systems.
🏥 Selfapy didn’t start with DiGA—but became a pioneer anyway. They built for users, then adapted as policy opened the reimbursement door.
🛠️ Startups need senior operators, not just advisors or consultants
AndRobin fills the Series A void with hands-on executional leadership.
🚪 Step out when your superpower isn’t needed anymore
👇If you’re in digital health, health tech, or just building something that matters – this one’s for you
Fun mentions as always: Roberto Ascione Frontiers Health Andrew Mason Bundesinstitut für Arzneimittel und Medizinprodukte hims & hers
